The Norwegian government will provide Ukraine with an additional 500 million Norwegian kroner through the World Bank’s multilateral donor fund for assistance, recovery, reconstruction and reforms in Ukraine URTF.
“Today, during the 2024 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), Norway’s Minister for International Development, Ann Beate Christiansen Twinneraim, met with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and pledged to provide an additional 500 million Norwegian kroner to the fund,” the Norwegian government website reported on October 24.
As reported, NPC Ukrenergo received the first large cross-regulation transformer for one of the 750 kV substations (SS) as part of the REPOWER project from the World Bank (WB), which is financed by a grant of $247 million from the URTF fund. In the coming months, after the completion of production, almost 20 more powerful transformers purchased with WB funds are expected to arrive.
“On the eve of winter, it is vital to provide the population of Ukraine with electricity and heat. That is why we recently announced the allocation of 3 billion Norwegian kroner, which, among other things, will be used to provide electricity to almost 1.5 million people and industry in Ukraine, as well as for other assistance so that the war-affected population can survive the winter,” Twinnerem said.
As reported, in October this year, the Norwegian government proposed to extend the Nansen program until 2030 and expand the funding from at least 75 to 135 billion Norwegian kroner during this period.
“My main message during our meeting was that Norway should support Ukraine for as long as necessary. This is in the interests of both Ukraine and Norway, and the long-term Nansen program reflects this commitment,” the Norwegian Minister for International Development emphasized.
The Nansen support program for Ukraine includes military support, humanitarian assistance, funding to support civilian infrastructure and critical societal functions, as well as funding to support the reconstruction of Ukrainian society when possible. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has provided Ukraine with almost 52.6 billion Norwegian kroner, of which approximately 28 billion was allocated for military support and 24 billion for civilian support.
